‘Real Housewives’ Star Pleads Guilty to Scamming Elderly: ‘I’m So Sorry’
Jennifer Shah must pay $9 million in restitution and could spend up to 14 years behind bars, her plea deal says.
Bravo
Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jennifer Shah now admits she defrauded the elderly out of millions in an elaborate telemarketing scam.
Shah, 48, reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors in New York on Monday that will put her behind bars for up to 14 years. She will also have to fork over $9 million in restitution to victims, the deal said.
The agreement brings an end to Shah’s decade-long theft of millions off the backs of those who are “vulnerable, often elderly, working-class people,” said Homeland Security Special Agent-in-Charge Peter C. Fitzhugh in March.
Shah, who faced charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud and money laundering through telemarketing, was scheduled to begin trial next week. Now, her plea deal convicts her only of wire fraud—ending the possibility of a 50-year prison sentence she could’ve faced if convicted on both charges at trial.
“In 2012 to March 2021 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere I agreed with others to commit wire fraud,” Shah read Monday from a prepared statement, ABC News reported. “I knew this was wrong. I knew many people were harmed and I’m so sorry.”
The feds say Shah worked with her assistant Stuart Smith—who pleaded guilty in November—to orchestrate an elaborate telemarketing campaign that collected money over the phone but provided no services.
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Details on the exact faux services offered were not named by prosecutors, but the feds say they had victims lined up to testify about the misrepresentations made at Shah’s direction.
In an attempt to keep her name away from the fraud, ABC News reports Shah replaced her name on financial records with that of family members, and only used encrypted apps to communicate with her co-conspirator.
The 48-year-old even directed a partner to lie in a deposition taken by the Federal Trade Commission in an attempt to conceal her role in the scheme.
Shah’s attorney, Priya Chaudhry, could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Shah, while flaunting a lavish lifestyle, appeared in both seasons of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. In the latest season, which ended in March, Shah said she was innocent and declared she’d fight the charges levied against her—a proclamation that must have fooled some of her co-stars.
Meredith Marks, who also appeared on Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, told her followers in an Instagram story on Sunday to let the trial play out before judging Shah.
“For those of you who may not know this: I live in the United State of America,” Marks wrote, BuzzFeed News reported. “In the US, one has a right to a trial and presumed innocent until proven guilty.”
Now that Shah admits she’s guilty herself, a judge set her sentencing for Nov. 28.
Bravo, which reportedly began filming a third season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City with Shah on board, did not immediately respond to a question about whether the 48-year-old would still be featured this time around.
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